


Corner Store Crush

by Pacific_North_Stressed



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot, Soulmate AU, Transgender, may become a long term series, mentions of abuse, mentions of parental death, there are some sneaky Hamilton references, trans boy character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 20:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8681602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pacific_North_Stressed/pseuds/Pacific_North_Stressed
Summary: Jay, a transgender 20 year old working his way out of a dreary job at a corner store has his life changed when a very pretty girl walks in.
  ~Oneshot, may become a longterm series~Soulmate AU~





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first stories in a few years, so Im sorry if I'm rusty : P  
> This is also up for continuation, if you want a part two!

A bead of sweat formed on his dark brow.Today was the day! He had never felt more focused. You might be wondering who ‘he’ is. ‘He’ is Jay Williams, and today was the day he was going to get out of this dreary job at this little corner store, and leave to Reinco., an award winning radio company.  
Right now, Jay is supposed to be working, but no, he is polishing up his unorganized resume that he had stored away months before. His slender hands worked quickly across the paper as he tried to write as fast as he thought. He was going to get his life together! He had been so focused, he didn’t realize a rather pretty girl walk in until she was right in front of him.  
He looked up at her for a second, in awe. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen! She had long brown hair, which framed her heart shaped face. She adorned dazzling orange eyes, and it seemed as if he could see the world in them. She was wearing a dark red sweater with the collar of a light green blouse under.  
A tan, chubby finger twirled a piece of loose hair nervously as he gazed at her. It took Jay a moment to realize he had been staring and nervously jumped up when he did, a crimson blush on his face. He scrambled to scan her items as she looked at her feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the universe.  
“Y-you’re total is $6.78, Doll- I mean, miss!” Jay managed to stammer out, as he hesitantly made eye-contact. She quietly handed him a ten, and with that, she was gone. Jay quickly sped out the door, to give her her change.  
“Miss! You forgot your change!” He hastily quieted down as he saw that she was nowhere to be seen. His shoulders slumped, and he made his way back into the store. His resume had fallen onto the baby blue and white tiles, having been nudged off in his haste to compose himself earlier. He slowly picked up his resume, and set it down next to him as he lost himself in thought about the girl that had caught him so off guard.  
After a boring 15 minutes with no customers coming in, Jay looked at the digital clock next to the cash register, it was 9:00 p.m already! He smiled as he gathered his things and got his workspace ready for the next poor soul who would take his shift. After that, he made his way out the back door of the store, whistling to himself as he make his way to his old, hand-me-down station wagon. When he peered lovingly at his seasoned car, he could hardly comprehended what he was seeing.. Were the colors he normally saw… Off? Everything looked like it had shifted to a different shade. Jay violently rubbed at his eyes, as if that would make the new colors leave.  
He couldn’t have met his soulmate, he’s already able to see color! When you meet your soulmate, your normally black and white world gets color, and you stay with that soulmate forever. What could this mean? He hadn’t met anyone that could’ve been his soulmate, except that girl who came into the shop. She couldn’t have been his soulmate! She didn’t introduce herself, and she looked like a goddess! Way too good for him.. Hey! Don’t think bad of yourself, Jay! Positivity is key. A good mindset always helps you find answers.  
After a good 3 minutes of staring at his car in amazement and losing himself in thought, Jay stepped into his car, and sped home.  
When he got into the parking lot of his apartment, he was greeted with the unfamiliar sight of a black impala next to his usual parking space. He stopped his car in his usual corner, when suddenly something caught his eye. It was the girl from earlier making her way into the brick apartment complex that Jay -and now possibly her- lived in. He tried to get out of his car as quietly as he could, as if the girl was a rabbit, who would hop away at any second. He failed, and accidentally slammed his car door a little too hard. She took notice of the sound and looked back, only to startle, and run into the lobby of the old building. He caught one last glimpse of her as she sped in, and he saw that the colors on her had shifted too. Instead of a rich brown being her hair color, it was a silvery black. Her clothes had also shifted in hue, and the sweater was now a dark brown, and the collar of the blouse was what someone would describe as baby blue.  
He scrambled towards the colorful lobby, just to see a glimpse of her, if anything. For some reason he felt drawn to this mystery girl, more drawn to her more than anything he has ever wanted. He felt as if he was almost in a trance.  
When he had arrived into the lobby, the ‘mystery girl’ was gone. Jay felt a little downcast, as he wanted to meet whoever granted him this access to even more color. He quietly made his way to his shared apartment.  
As he made his way to the door (which was now green), he heard loud yelling inside. Cassidy was home? He then put on a smile to hide the slight frown he had on earlier. He then pushed the door open and was greeted with a surprised yelp from his short haired best friend.  
She then scrambled off the couch to him and started babbling rapidly to him,“Jay!! You’re home! How was your day? Your face is all red..”  
“I’m fine Cass, just a bit overwhelmed. Today was intense.” Jay responded back lethargically.  
Cass grinned and jokingly wiggled her thick eyebrows at Jay “Oooh!~ Did you meet your soulmate?”  
Jay’s eyes widened and he shook his head profusely, feeling his face heat up. Cassidy examined Jay closely, and abruptly grabbed Jay’s blushing face.  
Her face broke out in a wide grin as she realized. Her eyes shined with pride as she exclaimed, “Wait seriously? Jay, you can’t be serious!! I have to meet them!!”  
Cassidy could always read Jay’s movements. She had been the first person Jay had come out to as transgender, and Jay had been the first person she came out to as gay. They had been best friends since middle school, having both been rejected from the ‘normal’ crowd. Cassidy had stayed with Jay through everything, from his parents’ death to getting his first chest binder.  
Cassidy was a short 20 year old, just like Jay. She had shoulder length dyed hair that changed every week, and pointed features. She was rather skinny, even with all the junk food she ate.. She looked like she would be the quiet type, but that was far from wrong. Cassidy was a ‘fast’ person. From the way she talked, how she ran, how she thought. She was a certified genius and was rather blunt and honest. Jay liked that about her, and she liked how understanding he was, so they became friends! Even now, with Cassidy painfully grabbing his cheeks, Jay cared deeply for his friend.  
“Ow! Okay, okay I’ll tell you about my day later, I have to get work done, Cassi!!” Jay exclaimed, grinning as much as he could under her tight hold of his cheeks.  
“Fine… But you better tell me everything later!!” Cassidy exclaimed, letting go of his cheeks and going back to her game, Overtruth.  
Jay watched her for a second, mulling over how to tell her about today’s events, before shuffling into his small room. He surveyed what the colors of his room looked like now. It didn’t look too bad, just he maybe should’ve used some more similar colors..  
His walls were a muted orange and his desk was now a dark auburn brown, and was squished up in the top left corner of his room, next to his window and bed. It had little knick-knacks of his past on it, each ranging from black and white photo booth pictures of him and Cass to tiny light brown owl teacups that his mother had bought him in his even younger youth.  
There were more littles homages to Jay’s past lining the windowsill, which overlooked the busy city of Seattle. Him and Cassidy had painted little flowers along the edges of the window when they had first moved in a year ago, and the paint has started chipping. The flowers he had thought were a light pink and purple have shifted into muted crimsons and oranges, and they were beautiful. Jay ran his fingers along the slightly dusty windowsill as he reminisced about every small item of his past.  
He glanced toward his messy bed, and eyed the changes in hue of his beloved bed. The bed frame had slightly lighter wood than his desk, and his sheets and blankets were a soothing pale turquoise. There were more flowers painted onto the light wood of the bed frame, and on each of the legs of the bed were Cassidy’s and Jay’s initials. Next to his bed was his dresser, which was painted the same teal as his sheets, and it seemed to have clothes messily strewn about it. Lastly, a mirror covered one part of the other wall, and it had old dry erase marker stains all over it, from past doodles of Jay’s.  
Jay sighed in content at what he saw in his room now, it still felt like home. Jay was ready to just sleep and forget about all of today, but he had to finish up that resume! He was going to get it done, and he was going to get that job! Feeling rather motivated, Jay grabbed his laptop from under his bed, went to his desk, and got to work. He worked quickly but precisely, and felt almost as focused as he had been earlier. He finished after about an hour, and proceeded to call Reinco. about the hiring situation. He was surprised they were still open, but giddy anyway.  
“Hello! My name is Jay Williams, I saw that you are hiring a part time internship to someone and I would like to apply?” Jay recited, keeping down his excitement. He was going to get this job, he just knew it. A feminine voice on the other side explained to him that there were only two more positions open, but he would be able to come in the next day.  
“Thank you so much! I apologize for calling so late! Have a nice night miss! Again thank you so much,” Jay said, grinning from ear to ear. He set his phone down, got out of his chair and sped outside of his room to Cassidy so he could tell her. He plopped himself down on the couch, his face breaking out into a smug grin when she sprung up in surprise.  
“Guess who just landed himself an interview at Reinco.?” Jay boasted, tilting his head and running his hand through his hair to look cool… He failed.  
Cassidy faked a look of confusion, with a knowing grin before playing along, inquired, “I don’t know… What does he look like?”  
“Well, he is rather short, about our age… I think? Curly hair, has vitiligo? Oh! And his name is Jay and he’s me. I got the interview!!” Jay concluded, grinning like a cheshire cat. Cassidy’s face softened at the sight of her friend’s genuine excitement.  
“You look like you’re gonna burst, chill.” Cassidy deadpanned, despite her happiness for her best friend. Jay seemed to calm down his grin a bit, but his eyes showed his excitement. Cassidy then continued on, “So when’s the interview? Oh! Also! You still need to tell me about your ~intense~ day..”  
Jay’s stomach did an intense flip when he thought about what had happened in the shop with the mystery girl. He felt his grin diminish to a small smile as he felt his cheeks heat up to a pale pink. Jay shifted the very slightest bit in discomfort at the slight barrage of questions directed at him, but spoke anyway, saying, “The interview is tomorrow, and don’t say it all weird like that..”  
Cassidy then proceeded to scoot near Jay, and pondered out loud, “Tell me everything about your soulmate. Were they a girl? A boy? In between? Were they cute? I mean, they would obviously be cute to you but like, were they cute in general? Were they nice? You have to answer all of these questions. Now.”  
Jay rubbed his neck awkwardly, taken aback by the slightly invasive questions, “Well, she was a girl, and was what you could call ‘cute’, I guess. She didn’t really talk much, and she ran off before I could ask her name. I was kind of off guard because I didn’t know someone could look so.. Ethereal. She obviously noticed my gawking… I probably scared her. Cassi, I ruined my chances with my soulmate before I even get to know her name!” He whimpered solemnly.  
“Hey!! Don’t be so melodramatic. She’s your soulmate for a reason. You two were literally made for each other. She’s bound to be as drawn to you as much as you are to her.” Cassidy consoled.  
“But- But I mean, it could happen!” Jay exclaimed, as if he was looking for an answer for his anxieties. “She wouldn’t want someone like me anyways..”  
“Jay. You need to stop doubting yourself so much! You’re my best friend, so you’re obviously the best. Now. You’re going to go up to your room, and you are getting a good nice night of sleep. Then, you are going to wake up and dress dapper and absolutely nail that interview tomorrow.” Cassidy had a sparkle in her eyes as she said this, and got up to her feet. She excitedly hoisted him up off the couch and pushed him towards the cream colored halls.  
“Okay, okay fine! I give up..” Jay groaned as he walked towards his room for a much needed rest, his lazy steps quiet. When he got to his room, he almost immediately dropped himself onto his bed, and stretched himself out like a starfish. He almost immediately fell asleep.

He woke up to boisterous singing, coming from the main room of the apartment. He groggily rubbed his eyes, sitting up as he gained full awareness of his surroundings. Jay then stood up, going to see why Cassi was being so loud so early in the morning.. As Jay made his way to the kitchen, he saw dull shades of grey, black and white surrounding him. His eyes widened, this couldn’t be happening! He just met his soulmate, she couldn’t have been taken away from him so easily, without him getting to even know her name. He thought how this could be possible… If his soulmate dies or does an act that is unforgivable in their partner’s eyes, and their partner feels sick when they see their soulmate, both parties will lose the ability to see color. Could his soulmate have done something? His thoughts were interrupted as a feminine voice made it’s way to his ears.  
“What’s wrong, Jay? Oh, was I being too loud and I woke you up? I’m so sorry! Please forgive me. I-I’ll be more quiet. There’s no need for anger!” The weak voice stammered out. When he looked up to the source of the voice, he was greeted with the now-grey face of his soulmate. She looked sickly, and she was obviously frightened by his presence. Her skin was bruised, and scarred, and her once plump figure was skinny, to the point where she looked like she was on the brink of death.  
Somehow, even with the appearance she had, she seemed beautiful to him, and he felt such love for this stranger he hadn’t even met yet. Though, he also felt a mix of fear, anger, and sorrow for whatever creature did this to his soulmate. It was almost as if he could feel the dark bruises on her forearms and wrists, and he quickly made his way up to her to hold her. When Jay did though, she flinched away, withdrawing herself from him almost instinctively as she raised her arms over her chest, forming an ‘X’ to protect herself.  
“Please don’t hurt me, I won’t do it again, I promise! We don’t need any punishments...” She mumbled, her voice breaking in the last sentence, her downcast eyes filling with tears.  
It suddenly dawned on Jay. This had been… Him? Was he the reason she was like this and their world was grey? That was the only plausible answer. He felt a grimace try to force itself onto his face, but he knew that would scare the poor girl, so he put on a melancholy smile, and started to tell her, “It’s all right,” but before he could finish, a blinding light overtook his surroundings.

Jay abruptly woke up to the sound of his loud alarm. He quickly swept his eyes over his surroundings, to make sure everything was there. Everything had color. He hadn’t hurt this girl. Jay quickly calmed his heartbeat down before getting up and dressed. Cassidy most likely stayed up last night tending to her plants and playing video games, so she would be asleep now. That meant no distractions for him. He needed to nail this interview.  
Jay quietly got on his binder, and wore a baby blue button up with a black tie over it, with black slacks. Jay then made his way outside of his room to the bathroom, to comb his curly black locks as much as he could. After that, he brushed his teeth, grabbed himself an apple for breakfast in the kitchen, and sped out to his car. When he got to his car, he noticed the shiny impala was missing. Looks like his new corner-companion was an early riser. Jay then got into his car, and sped off towards Reinco. Headquarters. When he arrived, he didn’t take notice of the shiny black impala about two parking spaces next to his car.  
Jay walked into the small building with a quiet confidence. He talked to the secretary with ease, and he was scheduled to go in for his interview in an forty five minutes. Everything was going great.  
“E-Excuse me, is this seat taken?” A soothing voice mumbled. He then looked up to see the girl from yesterday. It felt as if the air was knocked out of his lungs when he made eye contact with her. He had thought her eyes were beautiful their first meeting, but how they looked with color didn’t compare. They were the richest forest green, with specks of darker colors embedded in the iris, and a light blue ring circled her pupil. Jay was awestruck. He had never seen anyone so beautiful.  
“Oh, uh, no it’s not. Thank you for asking.” Jay managed out, watching her form sit down next to him from the corner of his eye. He was more than definitely blushing, but as he looked towards her, he could see that she was a light pink. How cute. “Do I... Uhm, do I know you from somewhere? I swear I saw your face last night.”  
“I saw your face last night too, y-you work at the corner store, right?” She sputtered out, shyly looking towards him. Jay felt a rush of euphoria fill him as she look at him, her thick lips quirking up into a small smile.  
Jay then decided he was going to make this work. “Yeah, actually! I’m surprised you would remember me,” he stated, giving her a reassuring smile.  
“Well I mean, who would forget the cute guy that changed everything I see…” The mystery girl mumbled, thinking aloud without realizing. Jay heard this, and couldn’t help but bask in the confidence that sentence gave him.  
“Cute guy?” Was all he said, leaving her a blushing mess. She startled, rambling out incoherent sentences, her mind seemingly going 100 miles per hour. He could hear little ‘sorry’s every few sentences, and he decided he should calm her down a little bit..  
“Hey it’s fine, plus who wouldn’t think someone like me wouldn’t be cute?” He flirted, before continuing on, “Though uh, you mean changed everything you see as in your colors got shifted too, right?”  
She seemed to calm down a bit, but she stayed a bit pink due to Jay’s first remark “Yeah… Did that happen to you too?”  
“Well, I wouldn’t be asking otherwise, wouldn’t I?” He replied smoothly. This was going way too well for this to be true, Jay thought.  
“So that m-means we’re…”  
“Soulmates.” They said in unison, looking at each other fully.  
Jay felt everything at once. Happiness, excitement, sadness, fear, and even more happiness. He wanted to get to know this girl, and he wanted to figure out why they were made for each other. He felt he would never be able to find that answer, never in his lifetime anyways. All he knew is that this is who was destined for him, who he was going to someday give the world to. Someone who he is going to care for. She was someone who was made specifically for him, not to complete him, but to compliment him, and everything he is, just like he would do for her. He knew that in that moment, no matter how crazy it might be, he fell in love with her. He was ready to face anything with her already. Though there was one more nagging question he had to ask her.  
“I must ask you. What’s your name?” Jay inquired, looking at her smiling softly.  
“Mei. Mei Washington.” She replied with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes he had never seen before. It was beautiful, and he knew that he would always try to bring that glimmer to her eyes for as long as he lived.  
“A pretty name for a pretty face,” He teased, winking. Continuing on, he added “My name is Jay Williams. I’m at your service.”  
“Well Jay, may I have your number to talk to you? It’s gonna be n-needed sometime, and well, I don’t want to only see you on chance encounters…” Mei replied, looking down at her lap with a sweet smile on her face.  
“Of course! Let me write it down.” Jay consequently grabbed a piece of graph paper and pen from his old leather binder and scribbled down his number. He then ripped the paper in half, hamburger style, and handed the bottom half and his pen to Mei. She wrote her number and her name on the small piece of paper. She handed her the scrap, and he handed her the other, putting his in the pocket of his slacks.  
They talked a bit more about a diverse range of topics, one of them being about why they came to Reinco. and their shared interests in radio, activism and all things creepy. Their conversation was cut short though, as soon a woman opened the big door in the corner of the lobby, asking for Jay.  
“I guess I have to catch ya’ later. Call me sometime, okay?” Jay asked, even if it was less an inquiry and more a gentle command.  
Mei looked a little downcast, but hastily urged, “We sh-should get coffee sometime!” Jay’s eyebrow quirked up, and he smiled.  
“You read my mind, does Sunday sound good?” Jay responded, a grin threatening to break across his face. He felt like the most lucky man in the world.  
“Sunday’s good. Bye… Soulmate.” Mei bantered, smiling sheepishly.  
As Jay walked to the door, he looked back at Mei for a moment before waving at her and concluding their conversation with a teasing, “Bye Doll~”


End file.
